Things don't happen overnight

In a lot of ways, the paranormal field is very much a game of waiting and a game of patience. On more than one occasion, your patience will be tested. If you do not have a passion for the things that you do in this field, that patience will wear very thin.

Sarah Chumacero

11th March 2019.

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General, Paranormal Investigation.

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In a lot of ways, the paranormal field is very much a game of waiting and a game of patience. On more than one occasion, your patience will be tested. If you do not have a passion for the things that you do in this field, that patience will wear very thin. Here is way things take a lot longer than what you think!

A true investigation is not just a one night thing!

I have spoken many times before about experimenting and investigating. While we don’t all have the luxury to have unlimited access to a location, a true investigation is not something that only last a few hours. It usually involves having to visit a location several times over a long period of time to be able to properly begin to get any sort of answers. In the case of running experiments, it can take years. A lot of the time, investigating is sitting around and waiting for something to happen. If something doesn’t happen on the night you are there, don’t be defeated. There is no ‘on’ switch. In the same way we don’t even know what paranormal activity is, we don’t know what causes, where it is coming from and what makes it tick. You will walk into a location not knowing if anything remotely interesting will even happen at all. That is what gives some of us the excitement. The mystery of not knowing. The passion however is needed to get you through those cold lonely nights of waiting, because at times it can wear thin.

Making your mark on the field doesn’t happen overnight

When we join the paranormal, we are enthusiastic and full of ideas. We want to shake things up and really dive in head first. This as well takes time. Whether you are starting a website, a podcast or even just a Facebook or twitter page, gaining a following takes a while. You quite simply have to put in the hard yards. It can feel defeating when you are putting all of your time and energy into something and no one seems to be taking notice. I published articles on my blog for 2 years and I was lucky to have 20 people visit the website in a week (which probably included bots). People will find you. People do read your work, watch your work, listen to your work. The thing is particularly when it comes to social media, people aren’t really vocal unless they dislike something. Sometimes I feel like no news is good news when it comes to those kinds of things. All it takes sometimes it to have that one topic or one video or episode that really resonates with people and all of a sudden people have found you. It can take years before anyone even knows who you are. This is OK! I mean you aren’t doing it for the likes, you are doing it for the love. It can be trying, but patience is very key here and if you don’t have a passion for creating whatever content it is you are trying to create, again your patience will wear thin. The most important thing here is not to sell yourself short. It can be tempting to conform to what others are doing just to get your following up. Don't give in. You need to stand on your own two feet. To do this, it will take time, and you have to be prepared to wait it out and keep on going, even if you feel like it isn't worth it. If you enjoy doing it, then keep doing it! People will eventually follow suit.

Securing locations

Maybe you are sitting around desperate to do an investigation, yet there is nowhere to go! Either another group has an agreement with a location, or a location simply isn’t willing to open their doors. Instead of waiting in this kind of situation, you need to hit with boots on the ground and contact people. What is the harm in asking? The worst they can say is no. Even then there are still ways to explore properties during the day – legally of course by paying an entrance fee and visiting the property during opening hours. You never know, when you go at the beginning or very end of the day, you are likely to have it all to yourself.

Everyone else seems to have an experience but you!

This is one I know I can really resonate with. It seems everyone around us is having paranormal experiences, yet I don’t. Is it because I am not open to it? Is it because I think a lot differently about the paranormal than other people do? Is it because I am not psychic? It doesn’t mean though I have never had a moment that has made me scratch my head or get excited. There is no one size fits all when it comes to the paranormal and in the same way that we all investigate differently, we interpret information differently as well. If you are a paranormal investigator who has been doing this for a while, you probably don’t get those excited moments very much. This is because we know how it works, you are a lot smarter and know what sounds are what etc and again it is a lot of sitting around and waiting. It can be months maybe even years for some people between having an experience. Some may not even get one at all. In my whole paranormal investigating career of about 6 years, I have only had 1 moment that I still look back on and think wow. 1 moment in 6 years. If I wasn’t so persistent and if I didn’t enjoy doing what I do so much, you could understand why someone simply stops looking. Again you need that patience and remember why you are doing what you are doing. In the same way you want people to be open to the possibility of what you are looking for existing, you also have to be prepared to accept that you could be wrong too. It may not be what you think or expect it is or it could be everything you think it is. We quite simply don't know and most people will go their whole life looking and not get any closer to an answer.

Like anything in life, you are never ‘handed’ something. You have to put in the hard yards. You have to put in the work and the time to get results. You have to put in the work and the time to get noticed. While it is what a lot people call ‘a hobby’ I would go further and call it a passion. I don’t think people would be able to continue doing it if they didn’t have this passion because it really is a lot of waiting around and none of us are particularly good at being patient. It is a part of human nature. It is about finding the different aspects that you love about the field and really grabbing onto them. I feel this is why you do see so many podcasts, YouTube channels, websites and even Facebook pages. It is a platform that allows a person to creatively express themselves while also getting that little paranormal fix. Your love of the paranormal will come through in the work that you do.

Don’t do it for the likes, do it for the love, because without the love, your patience will probably get the better of you!